For the purpose of providing a sprinkler or irrigation effect, spray hose assemblies have been developed which comprise a spray hose having a plurality of ducts therein, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the hose and which are separated from each other so as to carry separate flows of liquid therein. The hose further comprises a plurality of spary slots which are distributed over the length of the respective ducts and which communicate therewith and which are adapted to open under a pressure of liquid in the hose, whereby the liquid is discharged from the respective ducts in the hose, for example in the form of a spray or sprinkler configuration. In use, the hose is connected to a water pipe carrying, for example, water under pressure, or to a feed hose which also carries water under pressure. For that purpose, the spray hose is provided with suitable connecting fittings at the respective ends thereof.
Because the water which is introduced into the spray hose from the feed water hose or water pipe is distributed to the respective ducts, it is possible for the hose to provide for a relatively uniform distribution of pressure over the length of the spray hose, by virtue of the spray slots communicating with the individual ducts being disposed in different regions of the hose. That therefore contributes to providing a uniform sprinkler or irrigation effect and pattern.
The fact that the hose comprises a plurality of ducts, for example three thereof, which are arranged in side-by-side relationship, means that the spray hose is of a substantially flat configuration in cross-section, that is to say, the width of the hose as measured in the direction in which the ducts are disposed in juxtaposed relationship is substantially greater than the dimension of the hose in a direction perpendicular thereto. That in turn means that the fittings which are disposed at the ends of the spray hose must provide a transition from the flat configuration of the spray hose to the generally round cross-sectional configuration of the feed water hose or water pipe to which the spray hose is connected. For that purpose, it is possible to cut through the partitioning walls which define the respective ducts in the interior of the hose, in the end regions in which the respective fittings are to be fitted, so that a round internal sleeve member can thus be pushed into that region of the spray hose. That in turn causes that region of the spray hose to be enlarged into a generally cylindrical configuration around the sleeve fitted therein, thus providing the transition from the flat cross-sectional configuration of the spray hose to the round configuration required for connection thereof.
An external sleeve with an annular cylindrical portion and flattened portions which correspond to the transitional region between the flat cross-sectional shape and the round cross-sectional shape embraces the fixing region of the hose from the outside thereof. The hose is fixed between the internal and external sleeves, for example by the hose being pressed by means of special tools into position between the internal and external sleeves which comprise for example brass.
However, a disadvantage with that design is that the fitting cannot be readily fitted by a lay person but in practice can only be fitted in the works. That means inter alia that the user of the spray hose is unable to reduce the length thereof, although that is often desirable as spray hoses are often intended to be used in small areas with nooks and cranniers, front gardens or the like.